


Of Lanterns and Flowers

by FullofWrackspurts



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Episode: s03e16 The Southern Raiders, F/M, Inspired by To All The Boys I've Loved Before, Katara doesn't say she forgives Zuko in S03E16, One Shot, Slow Burn, Valentine's Day Fic Exchange
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-15
Updated: 2020-02-15
Packaged: 2021-02-27 19:54:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,817
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22731304
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FullofWrackspurts/pseuds/FullofWrackspurts
Summary: Katara wants to move forward with Zuko as allies, maybe even as friends after what happened with Yon Rha. She thinks that a festival might be the place to do it.
Relationships: Katara/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 19
Kudos: 245





	Of Lanterns and Flowers

**Author's Note:**

  * For [yana_hallows](https://archiveofourown.org/users/yana_hallows/gifts).



> Written loosely inspired by the lantern scene in To All The Boys I've Loved Before: P.S. I Love You.

“Why does Zuko want us to buy more  _ rope _ ? It’s not like we’re going to be on Ember Island very long,” Toph said.

They weaved through the crowd, back down the main road through the market. Zuko had encouraged the group to make one last stop at a village before crossing the ocean to the island. Ember Island was apparently more of a resort town, and the shops may not have all the supplies they were running low on. Besides, there wasn’t really any rush to get to Ember Island.

“He’s being prudent, Toph. We  _ think _ we’re going to stay at Ember Island and we  _ think _ everything is going to go well the day of the comet. But we have no real way of knowing. It’s best we stay prepared just like we do when we're traveling.” 

She explained all of this to Toph as she paused at one merchants stand that was full to bursting with a colorful array of exotic fruits. Some she had seen during her last visit to the Fire Nation but some looked incredibly foreign. It was sweltering and her hair had frizzed into an oppressive blanket holding in the heat. An iced mango sounded amazing. 

“Well prudent or not, it's hot and I’m tired. Next time let’s send  _ him _ to the market.”

Her small but surprisingly calloused hands tugged on Katara’s arm pulling her through the stalls.

Two days ago, Katara would have been in complete agreement with her. It would have made her blood simmer having to do anything at the behest of the “newly-reformed” prince. But since yesterday, after they had returned from hunting for Yon Rha, things had been different.

When Zuko had suggested landing Appa in the inlet that lay a couple miles south of the village, she had readily agreed—which had taken everyone, including herself, by surprise. Hugging him yesterday and thanking him, she felt ready to start the next chapter in their relationship, no longer enemies. Though she hadn’t said any of that, she had hoped he understood. But she found herself wanting to prove it, to prove that she was different now, too.

Toph’s hands on her arm were slick with sweat and Katara pulled away.

“It’s too hot! Don’t make that face. I’m coming.”

Not looking back, Toph shrugged.

Katara began to follow after her but was cut off as two little girls darted out in front of her, paying no mind to their surroundings. Toph stopped a ways ahead, sensing that she wasn't behind her after all.

“What are  _ you _ going to wish for?” the littlest one asked the other as they sat down against the wall to her right.

The oldest girl began peeling a nectarine and handing slices to her sister. It would have been sweet except for how the eldest rolled her eyes at her.

“Wishes aren’t  _ real _ .”

Curiosity rooted Katara to the spot. Was wishing on a nectarine some sort of Fire Nation tradition?

“Mama says they are! She says that’s how she found Dad. You’ll see at the festival tonight!”

The little girl jutted her chin out, popping the last half of the nectarine into her mouth. The oldest rolled her eyes again, wiping her sticky hands on her skirt.

“Whatever. But I’m getting my own lantern and my own wish this year.”

A festival?

“Sugar Queen, come  _ on _ ,” Toph said, stomping her foot. 

Katara felt the Earth rumble warningly underneath where she stood. Taking the hint, she jogged after her. What were the odds they’d arrive on the day of a festival in the village, she wondered, a festival devoted to wishes, no less.

She pulled Toph to yet another stop.

“One more second, I need to ask something!” and without waiting for Toph’s frustrated declarations about how she was going to leave her behind, she ran to the nearest shop keeper.

-

A healthy amount of skepticism was to be expected when Katara announced her plan after arriving back to the inlet, but she hadn’t expected them to be this doubtful.

“Maybe we should  _ all _ go to this ‘surprise _ , _ ’” Sokka said, eying his sister’s water skins suspiciously over their supplies now spread in front of him to incorporate the new additions.

“I’m not going to  _ hurt _ him!” she exclaimed exasperatedly. “No. It definitely needs to be just me and Zuko.”

The group exchanged glances. They weren’t there when they confronted Yon Rha, her mother’s murderer. They didn’t feel the support of Zuko at her back as she stared despair and grief in the face and won. It was understandably harder for them to see how things could have shifted so dramatically between the two of them. 

Forgiveness heals. She needed to share that with him and this was the perfect way to do it.

Aang shrugged, feeding a berry to Momo who was propped on his shoulder. “I mean I guess. As long as you guys don’t go off too far. We’re leaving in the morning.”

As they often did these days, everyone fell in line with Aang, their leader at the end of the world. They shrugged acquiescing to her whim, but not without a few mumbled comments about how strange she was acting. 

-

Zuko stood stupidly behind Katara watching everyone’s reaction to her announcement. He felt as confused as they looked. 

“ _ I have a surprise for Zuko, so we won’t be here this evening _ !”

An angry Katara was almost less scary than this version of her, this side of her he was so unfamiliar with. Ever since they had returned yesterday, after she had hugged him, and looked at him with those eyes, he had been reeling. At the very least, it meant she didn’t hate him anymore, even if she didn’t trust him. Instead of feeling satisfied with what he had accomplished, he wanted her to look at him with those eyes again. He wanted to earn her trust.

When she asserted that she wasn’t going to hurt him, he couldn’t hold back the smile that tweaked the corner of his lips. If she  _ did _ want to hurt him, it wasn’t like Sokka would be able to stop her.

“You don’t mind do you, Zuko?” she turned to face him, eyes bright with excitement, her hands clasped together.

After he agreed to go with her to help exact her revenge, he knew he was lost. He would do anything she asked until she trusted him.

“Uh, no. That’s fine.”

“Perfect!” she said, beaming at all of them.

This region was one of the least familiar to Zuko within the Fire Nation. There was no large port and the village was situated between the coverage of dense surrounding forests to the west, hills to the north, and the sea to the east and south. There was nothing there that would have been of interest to Fire Lord Ozai as they passed in royal procession.

The air was moist, the foliage around them damp, and the scent of a recent rain lingered in the air. The forest was thick but he made sure to keep close to Katara who, somehow, seemed to know where they were going. The silence between them was not uncomfortable. He felt so content on their stroll in his homeland that he almost forgot that they had a destination in mind.

Then the forest gave way to a large clearing which made him stop in his tracks. Almost the entire village was occupying the very same field. The familiar sound of the plucking of a pipa drifted over the scene and he realized it must be some sort of festival. Adults were laughing and children chased each other through the clusters of people, some with kites in tow.

“Surprise!” Katara said throwing her arms wide, with a bit of a nervous laugh.

Through his confusion he saw her looking at him hopefully. 

“How did you know about this? Why—” but she didn’t let him finish the last question.

Shaking her head she tugged on his sleeve towards the festivities.

-

It was exactly what Katara had hoped. Families and couples gathered, chatting merrily together over their unlit lanterns. Some couples were sprawled out on blankets laid atop the dewy grass. She wished she had thought to bring a blanket, not that they had any very suited to the task. It wasn’t often they attended festivals.

The glow of the sun began to fade into the evening sky but the colorful display of people still shone bright. Most people wore cloth of reds and oranges as was to be expected, but many of the women and children wore crowns of flowers in their hair, some with rainbows of ribbon trailing down like a dragon’s tail. A few vendors meandered between the people, selling kebabs with brightly colored vegetables and smoked meats, others selling exotic fruits like the ones she had seen in the market earlier.

The song of the canary locusts in the trees intertwined with the music of the ensemble playing toward the front of the congregation. The energy was infectious. And though the curls still stuck to the base of her neck, the moist air carried on the light wind was a little cooler and more bearable than earlier in the day.

Smiling, she glanced up at Zuko who was looking around with his own small smile playing on his lips. If he knew she were watching him right now, he’d throw up an invisible shield, not unlike when she threw up her ice shields, and he’d quickly mask it. La forbid anyone see him have fun.

“I see you two will only be needing one.” 

They both startled, turning around to see an old man with a long powdery mustache holding out a flaxen lantern to the two of them. 

He wore a crimson sash across his chest from which lanterns of varying sizes were fastened. There was a gleam in the old man’s caramel eyes. 

“Thank you, sir,” she said taking the lantern, clumsily dipping into her best impression of the customary bow.

Zuko snorted, but the man paid him no mind.

“No need for such formalities. This is a celebration! The lighting will begin after dusk.”

-

Watching after the old man as he padded down the rows of couples, Zuko chuckled. He wouldn’t have been so quick to dismiss formalities if he had known who he was. The people milled about, blissfully ignorant that their humble festival was being attended by the Fire Prince himself, or well the deposed prince as it were. 

Festivals had never been very enjoyable in the past. Generally, they were filled with simpering commoners who were desperate to please his father, whether out of actual reverence or fear he supposed it didn’t make a difference. Eventually he stopped going, and he was so broadly disliked that he doubted he was missed.

He looked back at Katara who was lost in her own thoughts, twisting the hem of her gauzy sarong around her fingers.

“Why did you want to bring  _ me _ here?” Shame and incredulity pulled taut at his voice.

-

Katara sighed. Gently, she grabbed his wrist, pulling him down onto the grass to with her. She nibbled at her lip, wondering how to best explain it. The lantern sat waiting, between them.

“I overheard people talking about the festival in the village,” Katara finally said, her voice low, intent on not being overheard. “I just thought that if a waterbender and a firebender came together to send Agni a wish for peace, then maybe he would, I dunno … well it sounds stupid now that I say it out loud.”

To her surprise, he shook his head. She hadn’t noticed how, behind his curtain of jet-black hair, his golden eyes had grown soft around the edges as she focused on stammering through her explanation.

“I don’t think its stupid.”

She gave him a shy smile and nodded, figuring that was enough for now.

Pulling her knees up to her chest, she peered around. A few yards away, a young couple was huddled in concentration over their own lantern. The man said something and the woman threw her head back with mirth. Past her, Katara could see that they had written something on their lantern. She couldn’t make out all of the characters but did see “ _ health _ ,” among them. 

She averted her eyes back to the couple. Their wish to Agni wasn’t any of her business. When the woman leaned back down, she opened her mouth as if to speak only for the man to swoop in and cover her mouth with his. Her eyes widened in shock before flitting closed momentarily. They pulled away in laughter.

Katara looked away, not wanting to intrude. But before she could the woman caught her eyes. She was very pretty, her hair dark and braided up away from her neck in the humid air, intertwined with the crown of banana-yellow flowers atop her head. Even at this distance, her eyes looked kind. 

Standing up suddenly, she said brusquely, “Hold on a second.”

She ignored Zuko’s questions as she stalked over to the couple. Upon approaching them, she was surprised to see that behind the woman had a baby nestled against her in a sling.

“I’m sorry to interrupt, but would you mind if we borrowed that?”

The woman glanced behind Katara to where Zuko sat and smiled up at her. She had a gleam in her eye similar to that of the old man. Wordlessly, the woman handed her a bamboo brush and inkstone. 

“What was—”

Katara cut Zuko off, plopping next to him in the grass, setting down the brush and inkstone, “I think we need to write our wish on the lantern.”

They surveyed the people around them. Most people had brought their own brushes and ink sticks, others were getting creative with forms of pigment that Katara had never seen.

-

“Well we can’t very well write ‘We wish for the Fire Nation to fall,’ and send that up into the sky,” Zuko said with a low chuckle.

She rolled her eyes.

“ _ Obviously not _ ,” she said, dismissively, “but we can write a different symbol. What about the character for peace?”

“Still too obvious,” Zuko said, leaning back on his hands, his legs stretched out in front of him. 

They sat thoughtfully for a moment. Zuko stared up at the sky, no longer blue but instead it looked as if it had been stained with juice of the purple berry. The ground was slightly damp under his hands, but warm.

Suddenly, Katara sat up. Without a word to him, she picked up the brush, dipping it in the stone, and began drawing. Carefully, she traced an unfamiliar symbol. It curved up and then swirled around in a delicate arc. No, it wasn’t unfamiliar he realized. It was the symbol of the waterbender. Or was it? It began to take on a different shape underneath the flow of her brush strokes. Then he saw it. The signs of water and firebenders, blended together as one.

Setting the brush down next to the stone, she examined her work. He glanced up from the new symbol up to the set of her jaw and the long curve of her neck raised proudly at her own ingenuity. His mouth went a bit dry.

Suddenly, he was enveloped in the sapphire of her eyes searching his for approval. He felt moved by what she created and what it could mean for their future, for their people’s future. It was a symbol of unity—of trust.

“It’s perfect,” he said with a grin that he felt down to his core.

-

“Flower crowns! Get your flower crowns!”

One of the wandering vendors was approaching them with a crate abloom with vibrant flowers.

“Flower crown for the miss?” he asked, leaning down and looking at Zuko. The tanned vendor glanced at her as if he and Zuko were conspiring together and he wasn’t talking in a normal volume. “It is a tradition at the Lantern Festival. Can’t let such a beautiful lady go without a crown.”

Embarrassed laughter came spilling out of Katara’s lips. “No thank you! We’re alright. We’re not— Well you see—”

“Alright,” Zuko said with a lopsided grin, apparently amused by the man’s presumption.

Katara sputtered, stunned into silence. She frowned. Hadn’t they all agreed to save Zuko’s money? They weren’t going to purchase anything unless they had agreed as a group to make a purchase. Besides, this was silly. They weren’t  _ actually _ a couple. Of course, there was no way for them to prove who they actually were. Clearly, they weren’t related so that’d be a poor excuse and they couldn’t very well admit to their actual identities.

-

Not looking at her, Zuko sat up and began to rifle through the crate now set in front of him. He glanced at the vendor’s face, then to his knobbly hands. The craftsmanship of the crowns was surprisingly good, the flowers all fresh, none wilted. None of these were right though. Katara preferred the beauty of simpler things.

He was arm deep in flowers, when he saw it. It almost made him laugh. What was this knob-knuckled man playing at?

“A unique crown but a fine choice young man,” the vendor said encouragingly. “It will bring out the lady’s eyes.”

_ That’s because she’s of the South _ .

-

“That’ll be five copper pieces.”

In spite of herself, Katara peered around the man’s legs trying to catch a glimpse of the crown Zuko chose as he handed him the coins from his pocket. The vendor picked up his crate, shuffling the coins into his own pocket.

Zuko watched her as he held up the crown of fire lilies and moon flowers—the sun and the moon. A secret smile passed between them, a joke only the two of them knew.

“Well put it on her,” the vendor said encouragingly, glancing up from his crate as he rearranged the flowers back into place.

It warmed her the way Zuko’s smile grew sheepish as he leaned forward to place the crown on her head. It warmed her too much when his fingers brushed her forehead as he took the time to arrange her stubborn hair around it, since it had curled at odd ends from the humidity.

“Lovely! I was right about the eyes.” The vendor winked at Zuko.

Heat blazed across her cheeks, and she wondered if this was what the skin of a firebender felt like when the sun rose.

-

“Attention please! Everyone!”

A hush fell over the crowd. Two women stood next to the musical ensemble. They were wearing long unseasonable scarlet robes. 

“Tonight, we gather by the grace of Fire Lord Ozai in celebration of Anah and the Traveler.” They spoke in unison. 

A thrill ran through him. They were storytellers, Zuko realized. "Anah and the Traveler" was his mother’s favorite story. If this was a celebration of them, then his suspicion of what type of festival this was, was correct. 

He glanced at Katara, hugging her knees to her chest again, chestnut hair cascading down her back. She watched the performers eagerly as they began to move through the story, setting the scene. He wanted to scoff. No one could tell this story the way his mother could, with so much tenderness in her voice.

-

Katara loved stories. When winter would come and the South Pole descended into endless cold and endless nights, they would huddle around a fire in their igloo, sharing the stories of generations passed. So, somehow, sitting with Zuko in this summery place felt familiar to her.

_ “To the north, upon the hill lived alone a woman by the name Anah. Born with the fire of life within her, she watched over her forest with great care, protecting it and feeding it. _

_ For years, the village south of the forest and Anah lived in harmony. She fed the forest with the fire of life, and the forest fed the people.” _

“I think this must be that village,” Zuko whispered, his breath tickling her ear. 

Their shoulders were touching, but Katara didn’t move away. He nodded at the hills standing above the trees against the twilight sky just north of them.

_ “One night, a terrible storm came, threatening to destroy the forest. Many trees were lost. But Anah used her fire to give life to where it was lost.  _

_ Upon returning home, she sensed someone wandering in her forest, deeper, further away from the village. It was a traveler weary and worn from the storm, lost on his way home.” _

“The traveler’s name was Ko.”

Zuko’s whispers were sending goose-pimples down her arms. But unlike Sokka, who she would have told to hush, she let him continue, wanting to hear his interpretation of the story.

_ “Taking pity on the traveler she sent into the sky, a lantern. _

_ The traveler looked up and thought it was Agni himself come to guide him to the Spirit Realm. So he followed the lantern’s glow through the forest and up the hill.  _

_ There stood Anah, with her alabaster skin, glowing in the lamplight. She was so beautiful he thought her a spirit. For her dedication to the forest, she had been blessed by fate with unmatched beauty. Never had she anyone to share it with.” _

“I always imagined her to look like my mother.”

His words had been barely a whisper. Katara turned her attention away from the performers, looking concernedly at him. Was this making him upset?

Their faces were mere inches apart, with him leaned toward her, poised to tell her more. 

She whipped around to face forward again.

_ “‘Rest weary traveler, for we are both very tired. I have long tended my forest and brought you here and you have wandered cold and alone for too long.’ _

_ The traveler laid his head down at her hearth and immediately fell into a peaceful slumber. As she watched him sleep, she knew at once that she loved him. But she knew that she could not return to his village with him, for her forest needed her. But perhaps he might stay. As she lay her head down that night, she hoped that much. _

_ Before dawn broke, when firebenders rise, the traveler awoke. Frightened by his unfamiliar surroundings, he began to panic. It was as if he had woken from a dream. Beside him near the hearth, Anah slept. Gazing upon her beauty he knew he could not be there. For a man such as he, to be in the presence of a beautiful spirit so unguarded, could not be. He knew that their worlds did not belong together. His family was awaiting his return. So without saying goodbye, he left. _

_ Upon awaking, Anah’s heart was torn open. Before she did not know loneliness, her forest had always been enough for her. But abandonment had taught her to miss and she could think of nothing else.  _

_ That night, fueled by ache and longing, she sent up another lantern. _

_ The traveler, who had returned to his village, could see the lantern ascend from the hilltop. Regret plagued him. Had it been a spell? Could someone as lovely as she share the same existence as he? He couldn’t ignore the pull at his heart, drawing him to her. _

_ That night he delved back to the forest, guided by the light of her lantern, intending to ask her himself. _

_ She felt his presence in her forest, and joy filled her heart. Carefully she guided the lantern back up to her, willing him to find her. _

_ But he remained in her forest. When the lantern made it back to her, he did not come. _

_ She could not understand. So, every night for a month she sent a lantern, hoping he might finish his journey. And every night he followed it, but every time he couldn’t break past the forest, stopping himself at the edge, riddled with doubts. How could he believe he belonged in such a place? How could he think he deserved such a blessing? _

_ As time passed she became despondent. The flame of life she held in her palm to give to the forest grew fainter and dimmer. Soon she began to save her flame for her lanterns alone. _

_ The forest began to fade. And the people of the village began to worry. Where would they hunt? Where would they fish? It was as if all of the life was draining from the forest.  _

_ Then finally, one night, the lantern did not come. The traveler waited, praying that this would be the night. This would be the night he, unworthy as he might be, asked her to share her existence with him.  _

_ He waited and it did not come. Worry mingled with his regret, a bitter taste. Without a light to guide him, he tore into the forest.  _

_ Though much of it was dying, and the earth dry, he still found his way. He had walked this path so many times, it was as easy as memory. Never before had he moved with such determination. It filled him until he was close to bursting. And then, it came spilling out of him—his love, his hope, his determination. He had finally given it life. As he ran through the forest his energy seeped into the ground he walked on, revitalizing the things around him.  _

_ As he came to the edge of the forest he faltered, once more. The last and only time he had made it up the hill, desperation had driven him. Plagued with weariness, he thought he approached death. But as he looked up at the hilltop, he could only imagine her beauty radiating from above. A place where he longed to exist. Now there were no voices telling him to turn back or that he was upsetting balance. Instead something glowed inside of him.  _

_ He realized he had come to love her and as such, his existence belonged to her and hers to him. Turning, he saw the forest teeming with life once more. _

_ Now he ran to her, up the hill and into her house. _

_ She lay upon the same, though now barren, hearth as he had once—weary and lost. Slowly she opened her eyes, a tired smile on her lips.  _

_ ‘I knew you would come’ she said _

_ There he vowed to remain with her. Together, their love and power has fed our forests and our rivers, making more abundant than ever before.” _ __  
  


The performance ended and Katara gaped. This was a celebration of  _ love _ . She turned to face Zuko whose head was leaned back and his eyes closed. 

“Did you  _ know  _ that this was a roma—” she caught herself, heat rushing to her cheeks. “Um, that it was this kind of festival?”

He opened his eyes, looking at her thoughtfully, apparently not bothered that she had accidentally brought him on a  _ date _ . 

“No, I didn’t know. This story isn’t as popular in the rest of the Fire Nation,” he explained. “The lanterns did remind me of the story. That might be the story I heard most as a child.”

She still felt the embarrassment clinging to her like the dew on the grass. “Sorry Zuko, I didn’t mean—”

“Stop overthinking it, Katara,” he said firmly, cutting her off. “I want to make a wish with you.”

-

It was nearly dark now. He watched Katara who avoided his gaze. Her cheeks were still a rosy color and he wondered if he brushed his fingers against them, if they would be warm like the skin of a firebender.

It wasn’t a big deal to him that this was a celebration of love. He could hear Uncle Iroh telling them that love, peace, and harmony are all needed to achieve balance. What would he think of Prince Zuko, lighting a lantern with a girl from the water tribe? Zuko smiled softly to himself, as he continued to watch Katara look fretfully down at her sandals. He already knew the answer. He was glad she’d brought him.

-

The stain of her cheeks would never go away if he didn’t stop watching her. Spirits, why hadn’t she asked for more details about the  _ origin _ of this dumb festival? 

Resolutely, she looked away, not giving him the satisfaction of being able to tease her about this mistake. 

“ _ I  _ want _ to make a wish with you _ ,” he had said. 

No, she didn’t want to think about that either, she decided as her heart thrummed in her chest. 

Around them people began to stand, lighting their lanterns. Some, she realized, were tying objects to them. A few people were tying small purses of what she imagined were coins, then others seemed to be tying small trinkets.

“Zuko, look. Are we supposed to…” Katara trailed off, finally forgetting her embarrassment.

“It’s an offering,” Zuko said with the same realization she felt, looking where she pointed.

“It doesn’t have to be money,” he said, face knitted in concentration as he considered their options. 

He was a strategist like Sokka, she mused. Well all the better, because she was ready to just give Agni two gold pieces and call it a day.

His eyes found their way back to her, an idea forming behind them. She watched as they trailed over the flowers in her hair. They trailed down, meeting her eyes briefly, before moving down the curve of her cheek and finally lingering on her neck. Her heart jumped into her throat and uselessly, she tried to swallow it back down.

Sparkflies began to light around them. Circling around them, their intermittent glow, twinkled in his eyes. This close, she could see the creases of the angry scar that tore across his face, but on this version of Zuko that she had come to know, she realized it did nothing to mar the kindness in his face. 

Her instincts demanded that she move back as he began to lean toward her, but instead she stilled. She wasn’t sure what he was going to do or what she wanted him to do. As his hands, warm and soft, weaved their way behind her neck and under her hair she held her breath. For a moment there was fiddling, and then she let out a shaky breath, realizing he was just removing her necklace.

Unaware of what he had done to her, he leaned back holding the choker in front of her.

“What about finery from the Fire Nation worn by a member of the Southern Water Tribe?”

The choker hung between them, the small blood red stones glinting in the light of lanterns. Not fully recovered she didn’t trust herself to speak, instead she jerkily nodded.

After fastening the necklace through the rods in the lantern, he stood up brushing off the back of his pants. Shaking herself of her silly stupor, she moved to get up. She was met with his hand, reaching down to help her. Reluctantly, she placed her hand in his and it was as warm as it was on the back of her neck. Thankfully, with their lantern unlit, it’s too dark for him to see her blush this time.

Once they were both on their feet, he let go of her hand and she could feel the warmth leave with him. He lifted his palm to the lantern and pulled forth a small flame, setting it alight.

The crowd came to a hush. Around them, Katara spotted several couples holding hands. The couple who had lent them the ink and brush were whispering together, eyes wide as they stared at each other. Little kids ran past them to the front, where they gathered staring excitedly up at the sky in anticipation. Sparkflies danced cheerfully among the lit lanterns in everyone's hands.

One of the performers stood again at the front of the gathering with her hand raised in the number three. Taking his cue, a member of the musical ensemble moved forward with a hand-held gong. Katara covered her mouth stifling a giggle, she had never seen one so small.

Looking around at everyone’s lanterns raised in the air, ready for release, she could feel the anticipation prickling at her scalp.

_ Gong _ . 

She bounced on the balls of her feet, excited to release their wish to the sky.

“You know it is not Agni who grants your wishes. It is Anah and Ko whose light guides you along the path to their fulfillment.”

She turned to see the old man, walking past, sash now lanternless, smiling at her knowingly. 

_ Gong _ . 

Her sapphire eyes found Zuko’s gold. 

“To peace,” he said, quietly holding the lantern between them.

Katara grabbed it, her eyes not leaving his, “To friendship.”

_ Gong _ .

They let go together, eyes toward the sky.

She gasped and clutched Zuko’s arm. The muscles in his arm tensed but she only half noticed, eyes fixed on their lantern with their own symbol of peace silhouetted against it. 

Hundreds of lanterns began to rise, hanging over the crowd of “ooos” and “aaws”. They moved like a strange school of fish. A breeze rolled past them and the lanterns started to move away, floating on the air, moving where it willed.

Comfort filled her as she realized that it would be the power of air that would carry them where they need to go; the power of the Avatar would bring them to peace. The lanterns were out of reach now, cresting over the tops of the trees and Katara wanted to float along with them.

Breathlessly, not taking her eyes off of their wish, she whispered, “Do you feel lighter?”

-

In truth, with Katara’s arms wrapped around his, as they looked up at the lanterns drifting away, Zuko felt more grounded than he ever had. But as the sparkflies danced around him, he felt something dancing in him, too. Was it hope? 

Looking down at her, her lips were parted in wonder and her eyes were bright, mesmerized by it all. The hope in him danced more excitedly in time to some music he couldn’t hear. He wasn’t sure if he had ever seen her look this innocent and free. In this moment he knew, like he knew fire burned and water healed, he would do whatever he had to, to create a world where she could feel like this all the time. 

Pulling his arm from her grasp he instead he draped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her into him. 

“Yeah, I think I do,” he murmured into her hair as he hugged her.

-

The weight of his arm around her was enough to keep her grounded but it somehow made her feel even lighter. Her head was buzzing like the canary locusts in the trees.

“Me too,” she said, relaxing into his side, letting her head rest on his shoulder.

-

Together they stood, watching until the lanterns had faded completely out of sight.


End file.
